§26-8-2. Patients; expenses; disposition of receipts.
The department of health and human resources shall admit to the hospitals, under its rules, persons requiring hospital care and shall treat free of charge persons accidentally injured in this state while engaged in their usual employment, but preference at all times shall be given to persons accidentally injured: Provided, That the executive director of the workers' compensation commission shall pay to the hospitals for the treatment of anyone entitled to benefits or aid out of the workers' compensation fund the same fee or expenses that would be paid to a private hospital for similar treatment. All moneys collected under this section shall be paid into the state treasury through the state commissioner of public institutions as required in section thirteen, article one, chapter twenty-five of this code.